St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-11
THE LUCKY COIN.
A Story That Reads More Like
Fiction Than Based on Facts.

| Fiction Than Based on Facts.
| New York Morning journal.
| In that part of Fifth avenue where all
1 the houses are palaces there is one that
attracts general attention because it is
more imposing than those that surround
! it. 1t Is owned by a millionaire from
the Pacific slope, who, after amassing n
| fortune, came to this city to enjoy the
luxury which great wealth put at his
disposal. The house is furnished with
! all the costly elegance which good taste
| and an unlimited purse can secure.
Beyond the parlors, which are filled with
! rare objects OF art from all parts of the
| world, the rich man has his study. The
most noticeable thing in the room is a
| small table, which stands next a big
rosewood desk. There is nothing on
the table save an exquisitely-
| gold case with a gold lid. Inside the
! case, resting on SOFT velvet, lies COM
moK. everyday quarter OF dollar. A
| few days ago, while reporter was in
| terviewing the California millionaire on
question OF Western politics, he found
! it impossible to keep his eyes from wan
dering to the 81 900 case and its twenty
| five-cent piece. The millionaire, seeing
/ the reporters evident curiosity, said:
"You are surprised, no doubt, to see
! that twenty-five-cent piece i'm such a
| gorgeous case, but that coin has a his
| tory. There was time when it was
I the only piece OF money L had in the
/ world. 1 look Oh it as
7 KIND OF MASCOT, olA
and nothing would ever induce me to
4 part with it. Twice it has been out Of
my possession since / first had it, and
Il each time some misfortune has happened
I TO me. l will tell you the story of my
quarter. If you won't use my name in
/ repeating it,"
/ The millionaire took the piece of
money from its satin-lined resting place,
and, handing it the reporter, continued !:
''YOu see that this coin is marked in
such way that there is no mistaking it..
| (Ihe letters q. W., with star before
and after them, were deeply engraved
in the center of the piece of money! 1t
was first given to me in San Francisco
in saloon. gave the barkeeper S.
gold piece, and among the change l no
ticed this marked conn.,
| | picked it out, and, putting it in an
other pocket, remarked to MY friends
that would keep it as pocket piece.
| l was as poor as poverty in those days,
but, like every one else, played faro
every time | had money enough to buy
stack of chips. That night [ got
around to Jim Moons game, and, as
usual, before quit l was cleaned out,
and had not a dollar left in the world.
| The next morning, when | went
to work, l was told that the man
| who employed me had decided to
move to Sacramento, and my valuable
services were no longer needed. / had
| had no breakfast, and began feeling in
my empty pockets for Some stray coin
to get cup OF coffee. To my great sur
7 hot ri 4 ~
| down and argued with myself whether
/ should spend my last cent to get some
thing to eat, or it l should go back to
the faro bank, where l lost my money
the night before, and make final effort
to pull out Square.
A FORTUNE FOR TWENTY-FIVE CENTS.
1.-The gambling passion was strong in
me forty years ago, and l decided to
take the chances and bet my last quar-
ter. Back to the gambling hell hur-
ried. The game had just opened, and
the first turn of the cards was just being
made. Dollar chips were the smallest
ones in use then. So | threw down my
quarter between the six, seven and
eight, and then went over to the side
board and poured myself out a glass
of whisky, determined to have a
drink for my money, any way. When l
went back to the table found two chips
in the place of my 25 cents. / reached
over to pick them up, but before / could
do so the dealer turned the cards and
again l won. j played without thought
and quit with 800. Before leaving /
paid the dealer 81 fdrnhy marked QUAR-
ter, Their went outand had a break
fast fit for the gods. @
EVERY day for two weeks | gambled,
and every day won. | kept t lat coin
always with me, and, soon L had over
s., 600 in a canvas bag. One night as /
WAS leaving the game met an old
woman who begged from me money
enough tot5gets something to eat. [
|1had, as usual, been winning, and
fuse a woman money for food when
|. luck was all running my way
seemed heattlesS, so l reached down in
my pocket. and gave her the first coin |
met. When | reached home | searched
. everywhere for my luck piece, butt was
gone. l had given it to the beggar
woman. The next day | lost heavily,
and determined to play no more until l
/ found my quarter. 1t seemed hope
I less task to find one particular piece
4 oil money 6ness a but l a,,ra never gave
carefully at every piece of money re-
, ceiyed IN change. AT last was sue
ceSSful. In the same bar-rOom where
got my quarter | received it again. l
was SO eIated that l treated the house to
champagne. That night, for the last
time in my life, gambled at cards and
won 5000. L went to Nevada soon
after and began to speculate in mines,
and in the course OF time l had what
people call bonanza fortune.
A FATAL STROKE OF LUCK.
SS'Hha only othay fii1aa ~, ono Ix,f@
me l lost the best friend ever had. He
was ScheOlmate of mine in the little
village of New Hampshire, where we
were both born; we sat at the same
desk, and were often whipped with the
same rod. He, too, got the gold fever,
and getting together what money he
could he started for the far West.
Poor fellow! He never had any
luck; everything he touched failed
Virginia City two years after his arrival
on the Pacific slope he was in as hard
luck as any man ever saw. | put him
in the way OF making some money, but
everything he got he lost at faro. One
day he heard me tell the story of MY
quarter, and asked me to loan it to him
to see if it would change his luck; he
promised not to part with the coin, so
granted his request. He went to the
game and put 50 piece, with my quarter
on it, in the pot-that is, between the.
ace, deuce, king and queen.
He then folded his arms and rested his
head on them. Turn after turn was
made, yet he never once looked up. AS
card after card was turned murnluTS of
surprise passed around the table. The
men ON each side of my friend nudged
him, but he never raised his head. The
whole four cards won out, and when the
deal was over my friend had $40, 752 piled
up in the middle of the table. The dealer,
asked BIN to rake down his money and
let the new deal begin. Yet he never.